May 18, 2020 - Meeting Minutes

 

Due to the COVID-19, this meeting was permitted by Sub.H.B.197 to be held through a conference call.

 

Brewster Village Council met in regular session with Mayor Chuck Hawk presiding.

 

7:00 P.M. – CALL TO ORDER

 

Council Members bowed their heads for the invocation provided by Clerk-Treasurer

Kris King followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

 

Charles Hawk, Mayor

Dale Fox, Council Member                           Andrew Hess, Council Member                 

Thomas Hilliard, Council Member             Brett Long, Council Member                                      

Sydney Radich, Council Member                               Mike Schwab, Council Member

 

John Anthony, Solicitor                                  Kris King, Clerk-Treasurer

Michael L Miller, Village Administrator

 

Mayor Chuck Hawk asked if there were any additions or deletions to the May 4, 2020 Council meeting minutes.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWAB MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER LONG and motion carried to accept the minutes as presented.  The Vote: all yes.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWAB MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to accept the bills in the amount of $ 549,373.56.  Council Member Hilliard expressed concern that we should be watching our spending.  The vote: All vote: All yes.

 

Louis Carroll of East 7^th Street asked Council where the entrance and exit would be for the new proposed High School building.  He is concerned for the safety of those coming and going and the local residents.  VA Miller is under the understanding that visitors, buses, and handicap parking will be off of 7^th Street and the rest will park off of Route 62.  He stated there needs to be a traffic study.  The Village will not know anything for sure until the school applies for a conditional zoning permit.

 

Fire Chief Chris Colucy was also on the call.

There were no guests.

ORDINANCE 28-2020: An ordinance authorizing the adoption of an employee 4.05c expanded family    medical leave policy and the addition of the policy as defined to the Village handbook was given third reading.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWAB MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RADICH to pass the legislation as read.

 

Council Member Hilliard asked the VA to explain the ordinance.  VA Miller explained it is an expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act.  Qualified employees are eligible for 12 weeks off with the first 2 unpaid.  This would cover non-essential employees that need to be home with their kids since they are not in school to helping a loved one with the coronavirus.  The majority of the Village’s employees are considered essential including all Police Officers, Fire Department Personnel, Water and Wastewater Personnel, Linemen, and the Administrator.

 

The vote on the motion: All yes.

 

ORDINANCE 29-2020: An ordinance authorizing the adoption of an employee 4.01C health emergency paid sick leave and the addition of the policy as defined to the village was given third reading.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER FOX MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER LONG to pass the legislation as read.

 

Council Member Hilliard asked the VA to explain this ordinance.  VA Miller explained it is also an expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act.  Qualified employees are eligible for 80 hours of paid sick leave.  This would cover non-essential employees that need to be home with their kids since they are not in school to helping a loved one with the coronavirus.  Again, the majority of the Village’s employees are considered essential including all Police Officers, Fire Department Personnel, Water and Wastewater Personnel, Linemen, and the Administrator in order to keep the Village services running smoothly and keep the community safe.

 

The vote on the motion: All yes.

 

Second Reading:  An Ordinance Authorizing the Awarding of a contract for the Advance Meeting Infrastructure Project.

 

RESOLUTION 30-2020: A Resolution Amending and Appropriating $3,640.83 for a CARES Act Fund and Declaring an Emergency was given first reading.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWAB MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to suspend the rule requiring three separate readings and bring the legislation forward for passage.  The vote: All yes.

 

Clerk King explained that the village has received money to help aid in the cost of helping to stop the spread of the virus.  She spoke to her independent auditor and she recommended creating a separate fund to track the money spent and ensure it was used for appropriate purchases or services.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER HILLIARD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER LONG and motion carried to pass the legislation as read.  The vote: All yes.

 

First Reading: An Ordinance Amending the Transportation Agreement Language with the City of Massillon in Section 3, Reportable Offences, to Comply Better with the State of Ohio Executive Order 2018-03K.

 

Third Reading: An Ordinance Authorizing a Contract for the Sale of the Village’s Existing 69 KV Transmission Facilities and the Establishment of a Second 69 KV Interconnection was given third reading.

 

MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT REPORTS:  

No report

Solicitor Anthony received a response from Paul Lafayette’s Office asking for documents related to payments made to OPEC-HC, OIS, Jefferson Health and Benovation from 2014 to 2018.   The correspondence points out there are audits being conducted by the State Auditor as well as the Receiver in his report to the Court prior to a final settlement of the case.  The letter points out that the Receiver has found discrepancies in the accounting information that have to be resolved before the final settlement can be approved.  Mr. Lafayette feels that we need to provide documents once again.   The case continues to inflict pain. 

 

The appeal that commenced two plus years ago in Franklin County and Lorraine County relating to the constitutional challenges to the revisions to the Municipal Income Tax i.e. HB 49 and HB 5 particularly as to the central processing of receipts by the State was argued May 13^th in the Ohio Supreme Court.  The appeal seeks to declare that such central processing is unconstitutional in violation of Home Rule rights of local governments. 

 

The JEDD Agreement with Sugarcreek Township- He hasn’t heard anything from Jim Matthews. He emailed for an update and but haven’t heard anything yet.  I anticipate an update prior to the next meeting.

 

Solicitor Anthony is still working with VA Miller on getting in a position to close on the Asset sale with AMPT and the future construction of the transmission line:  Prepared consent and approval forms for signature that are required from the Railroad granting permission to assign Brewster’s easement rights over railroad property to AMPT.   A similar arrangement is in the works with Brewster Cheese except that will be in the form of a sublease with AMPT under the Brewster Cheese lease with Brewster Village that is home to the current distribution station.

 

Received a bequest from William M Triner Sr. Estate which is under administration through the probate court of Stark County Case No. 235936 in the amount of $122,479.02.  Clerk King received that disbursement this past week.  Through his Last Will and Testament, Mr. Triner left the majority of his probate estate to the Village of Brewster Fire Department.  Kris will have more to say on that.

 

Council Member Hilliard ask about the baseball fields opening up.  He wanted to know what the Village’s responsibility is.  Solicitor Anthony stated the protocol set up by the State and the Health Department must be followed.  VA Miller stated this has been an ongoing discussion.  The porta-potties are going to be an issue.  They have to be cleaned and sanitized.  He stated we can’t get santizer for our own buildings and employees.  He suggested putting up signs that say enter at your own risk-not cleaned on a regular basis.

 

COMMUNICATIONS: 

 

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR: Mike Miller

Mayor Hawk stated that VA Miller had emailed Council the Administrator’s Report for this meeting.  He would like to entertain a motion to accept the Administrator’s report along with his supplemental report into the minutes before we move on to questions for the Village Administrator.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER LONG MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWAB and motion carried to accept the VA Report and the Supplemental VA Report and enter them into the minutes.  The vote: All yes.

 

Administrator’s report for period 5/5/2020 thru 5/18/2020:

 

• Fire Station Addition – Progress. A bi-weekly progress meeting was held on Tuesday May 12^th. It was again held in the Fire Station Bays where the Tahoe and grass fire truck are normally parked but were pulled out so that we could have 10 feet between each participant. Construction is going well and is on schedule. Steel is scheduled to be delivered in the next couple of weeks, which will allow the second story in begin.

 

• AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure). I am preparing a PowerPoint for the June 1^st Council of the Whole Committee Meeting to refresh everyone on how we got here, and what the advantages are of AMI, so that Council can be provided all the relevant information before making a final decision.

 

Courtney and Associates, who did our most recent rate studies, is currently performing an analysis to determine whether the projected costs fit into the current and future established utility rates. Their results will be available by June 1^st.

 

• Potential Transmission Project – Sale of 69kV Assets. Work continues on negotiating an agreement(s) for the proposed purchase of Village 69kV assets by AMP Transmission. We continue to work on the details regarding verification of both ownership and the transfer of easements (in the proper order). Once those are finalized, and the documents are completed, Council can then authorize their execution on behalf of the Village.

 

• Parks – Terry Fowler Field (Field #1). The Electric Department has erected the two (2) signs identifying Field #1 as “TERRY FOWLER FIELD” “ESTABLISHED 2020”. The signs are 3 feet by 5 feet, with one erected on the third base side of the backstop facing out to left field, and the other one erected on the first base side of the backstop facing out towards the parking lot and walking path. Originally, we were going to erect them back to back on the backstop above home plate, but at that location the one facing the field may have become a “target” and the one on the back of the backstop wouldn’t have been very visible.

 

• Parks – Opening Baseball Fields. The Governor and Department of Health have announced that non-contact and limited contact sports leagues may reopen beginning Tuesday, May 26^th .

 

This applies only to non-contact and limited-contact sports. To ensure that non-contact and limited-contact sports leagues operate in the safest manner possible, Governor DeWine's Adult and Youth Sports Leagues Advisory Group is creating a detailed list of guidelines and best practices for sports leagues to follow.  A full list of mandatory and recommended best practices will be available soon at coronavirus.ohio.gov.

 

So, at this point we don’t know:

• what sports are on the Governor’s list of non-contact and limited contact sports leagues
• what is in the detailed list of guidelines and best practices for sports leagues to follow

     

     My questions to Council is IF baseball is on the list, what is Council’s feelings about opening up

     Brewster Baseball Fields, and if so are there conditions that we should have met before we allow

     their use, such as:

.

• assurance that the users can meet required safety protocols

 

In addition, as we begin to reopen, another concern I have is do we provide port-a-potties and if so, how do we assure that high use surfaces (handles, etc.) are kept sanitary?

• Recycling Area. The Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Solid Waste District dropped of three (3) signs this week for the recycling area. One identifies “ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED AT THIS SITE, another indicates that “THIS SITE WAS FUNDED BY”, and the last states “NO DUMPING”. The Electric Department utilized two (2) old power poles recently pulled out to provide a solid support for the three (3) signs, as the largest is 5 feet X 7 feet facing west and will occasionally have a significant wind load on it.

 

• Yard Waste. The first quarter Yard Waste Activity and financial reports were completed and filled. One item of note is that the April bill came in, and we had 21 loads hauled out in April alone. April had 22 week or “work” days. We knew that “business” had picked up, but seeing the numbers came as somewhat of a shock.

• East Main Street Paving & Rehabilitation Project. We met with the contractor, Northstar Asphalt, on Tuesday May 12^th to go over the project and firm up details. They expect to start the project sometime after Memorial Day.

 

Before he went off for an extended time, Street Superintendent Rick Patterson replaced the storm sewer from Cleveland Ave to the drainage ditch, saving the Village cost of having the contractor do the work. This week Street Technician Chris Osborne cleaned the area up. We plan to seed it once all the construction is completed.

 

• 2020 Paving Program. The contracts are being signed for the 2020 Paving Program, which should start in the near future.

 

• Electric – Substation Upgrade/Expansion. Construction work is in the final stages on the Substation Upgrade and Expansion Project.

The current goal is to energize the new North Yard addition sometime during the week of May 18th.  Energization of the North Yard is predicated on all applicable EPS field testing being successfully completed. GPD has identified the following “high-level” tasks would be involved in this phase of the startup:

 

 

 

 

 

Administrator’s Supplemental Report for period 5/5/2020 thru 5/18/2020:

 

• Jefferson Ave Sanitary Sewer Project – CDBG Application. On Friday May 15th we were informed that on April 22nd the Board of Stark County Commissioner’s adopted the FY 2020 Stark County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.  The application submitted by the Village of Brewster, entitled “Jefferson Avenue Sanitary Sewer Replacement”, was one of the projects approved for CDBG funding.  We were initially informed that Brewster had been recommended to receive $121,415.61 in CDBG Funds. However, with reallocation of CDBG Funds from prior years the Village of Brewster will now receive up to $441,959.00 for hard construction costs. 
  
  

The Village is also scheduled to receive $312,378 in OPWC Grant Funds and $209,907 in OPWC zero percent Loan Funds.

The Village will be receiving the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) contracts for this project.    They will need the Village to approve, sign, and return these contracts to their office. Once the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), releases the FY ’20 CDBG funding (this is expected sometime between mid-August to mid-October), the contracts will be remitted to the Board of Stark County Commissioners for final execution. 

We need to be aware that until this takes place, the Board of Commissioners will be unable to enter into the construction contract for this project, but this does not stop us from moving ahead with the preliminary steps of this process.   

As done with all past projects undertaken in the Village of Brewster utilizing CDBG funding, the Stark County CDBG Office will be bidding this project on behalf of the Board of Stark County Commissioners & the Village of Brewster.  As such, their office will develop the spec book, have the Board of Stark County Commissioners approve it, set advertising and meeting dates, and bid the project from our office.  The Village of Brewster will not have any responsibility regarding these matters except to attend necessary meetings.  In fact, once the bid is opened at the Board of Stark County Commissioner’s office, our office will develop the bid tab and remit to Hazen & Sawyer, as the project engineer, for review and acceptance.  We will then assemble the contract documents for the Board of Commissioners to approval and award the contract.    Once construction contract documents are fully executed, our office will hold a pre-construction meeting, and then the Board of Commissioners will issue a Notice to Proceed & construction work can commence.   

There will be some additional engineering costs necessary to assist Stark County CDBG in putting the bids specifications together that Brewster will need to pay, and potentially pay construction inspection, but those costs should be minimal. There will also need to be coordination with OPWC as well.

• Safe Routes to Schools Funding Application – Park Drive Phase 3. On Friday May 15^th we were informed that the SRTS committee has announced their funding awards for 2020 and unfortunately, the Village of Brewster did not receive funding for their application this year. We applied for $350,000 for Park Drive Phase 3, the portion of Park Drive from just north of the levee to immediately south of the creek/bridge. This portion was/is to be the last portion of the Safe Routes to Schools Shared Use Path constructed, connecting Brewster to Fairless Middle School and Elementary School. This portion presents the highest risk to students walking of biking to school, as it is both narrow and has a blind hill (the levee) so that students cannot see oncoming traffic nor can traffic see students as they ascend the levee. It also presents the biggest challenges to construction, which is why we applied for not just SRTS Funding but did so to utilize ODOT’s expertise and ability to work with the various agencies that would be involved in this portion of the project.

We were told that the reason the application for a proposed shared use path along Park Dr. that connects 7th St. to Main St. did not score as well, relative to other applications this round, was because the committee felt it did not demonstrate enough impact on potential trips, have the lower economic need, and presents slightly higher risk. Admittedly this project does present both a higher “risk”, in that crossing the creek and negotiating the levee will have engineering and potentially construction “challenges”. Again, that is why we applied for SRTS Funding through ODOT, to make use of their expertise and experience. I however do not understand the comments about “lower economic need” or “enough impact on trips” comments and will be seeking clarification.

 

The committee recommended that more progress be made locally, and if there is a critical need for SRTS funding to help with this school connection, the SRTS committee invites us to reapply in a future funding round. With East Main between Cleveland and Park Drive being completed this year (with assistance of an OPWC Grant), progress on 7^th Street (both north and south sides), and with a potentially successful OPWC application for Park Drive Phase 1, we will show that more progress has been made locally and therefore score better.

 

In addition, hopefully by the next round our presentation can be given in person and not be relegated to just 10 slides. This will allow the Village can better convey the progress that has been made and answer the issues that have been raised this round. The Village was not able to fully show its progress and answer issues raised by the committee in its presentation of just 10 slides via teleconference. Our presentation was hampered by those constraints. Not a single question was asked following our brief presentation allowing us to address the committee’s concerns. Knowing their concerns, and hopefully having a better process next year to address those concerns will also allow our application to score better.

 

Council Member Hilliard asked how often and the purpose for which the Electric Department uses the gator.  VA Miller stated they use it to inspect the transmission lines, help raise wires when they are the beaten path.  Council Member Hess suggested renting equipment for pulling the wires.  VA Miller stated they really need one with more power for lift and when they are off-road, so they don’t get bogged down.  The one we have is great for the parks.  They can empty the trash receptacles.  They can haul their equipment to where they are working without leaving ruts in the park that they must fix later.  They can also haul mulch in it.  The VA is looking into whether we would be better off sharing the one or getting a better one for the Electric Department and using the old one strictly for the parks.  Council Member Hess asked how they would be getting the gator from park to park.  VA Miller stated they may need to tweak the ordinance to allow for grounds maintenance equipment.

 

Opening the park for baseball season was discussed.  Council Member Long reported on the current schedule of what the teams could do.  Council Member Schwab asked if the Stark County Health Department was alright with the plans for opening up.  Solicitor Anthony discussed the difficulties involved in enforcing the rules.

 

Council Member Hilliard brought up the siren.  VA Miller stated we are waiting to hear back from Staley’s Technologies.  They were closed due to COVID-19 and are just starting back up.

 

VILLAGE MAYOR: Charles Hawk
1.    May has been proclaimed Motorcycle Awareness Month in the Village of Brewster.

COMMITTEES or COUNCIL REPORTS: The Goal of any committee meeting is to discuss an issue or proposal and to provide, by a consensus of the committee members, ONE recommendation to Council

None

 

June 1^st – Council of the Whole meeting at 6:30pm to discuss the specifics of the AMI Project

June 15^th - Council of the Whole to discuss the funding of the Jefferson Sewer Rehabilitation Project

__________________________________________________________________________________

         

 

COUNCIL MEMBER SCHWAB MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HILLIARD and motion carried to provide signage for all the porta-potties stating the village is not responsible for the cleaning between uses.  This sparked a conversation from porta-potties to baseball.  How to enforce the rules that have been established for social distancing and so forth.  The vote: All yes.

 

Council Member Mike Schwab stated that he doesn’t have any children playing baseball that he didn’t feel that he should determine whether they open up on the 26^th of May.  This started a long conversation on whether the Village should open the parks for baseball.  Solicitor Anthony stated this was uncharted territory since the COVID-19 pandemic and the local governments are becoming the policing powers for the new rules in this case.  Council Member Fox would like to see them play ball. 

 

COUNCIL MEMBER HILLIARD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to hold off until the June 1^st Council meeting to determine when baseball will be permitted to start so that VA Miller and Solicitor Anthony can get more clarification on some of the questions that arose in the conversation above.  The vote: Long, abstain; Radich, yes; Schwab, yes; Fox, no; Hess, yes; Hilliard, yes.  Motion carried.  (Note: The 2020 Baseball Season has since been cancelled for Fairless Youth Baseball)

 

COUNCIL MEMBER HILLIARD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER LONG and motion carried to approve the fire pay of $ 1,692.26.  The vote: All yes.

 

VILLAGE SPEAKS: Communications Received by Council members from Village residents

Council Member Hilliard reported there was high grass at 221 Harmon.

 

Council Member Hilliard received a complaint about a dumpster in the road on 1^st Street.

 

Council Member Hilliard wished to thank the Fire Department from the bottom of his heart for their professionalism and care they gave his wife when she was transported to the hospital.

 

COUNCIL MEMBER FOX MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RADICH and motion carried to adjourn the meeting at 8:28 PM. The vote: All yes.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Kris King, Clerk-Treasurer

Charles Hawk, Mayor